Pros
Interview process consisted of 1) intro call with a recruiter 2) take home assignment 3) mock sales call 4) behavioral interview and 5) reference checks and call with a sales manager.
Others here have covered the format and content of the interviews. No changes there as of Oct 2024. So I’ll cover stuff that I haven’t seen mentioned here.
Everyone I spoke with at Headway was friendly, professional, and genuinely curious about me, my interests, my background, and what I was looking for in my next role. But I withdrew from the process prior to the final step, despite getting overwhelmingly positive feedback, and here’s why…
Cons
-Rushed hiring process: They’re trying to fill 20 PGA seats in a week. I went from a first call to final round in 3 days. I had the time for it so it was cool with me, but I doubt most people would be able to make this work. I was told there was no flexibility on scheduling these calls and that all interviews would need to be completed by end of week. After all, they’re a “hyper growth startup scaling at all costs,” so you can’t expect them to slow down, not for nothing, not for nobody! (sarcasm)
-Start date and PTO: I was asked if I had any trips planned between Oct 28 (planned start date) and Nov 28. I told the recruiter I had a 3 day vacation planned over the week of Thanksgiving recruiter responded saying this wouldn’t work for them since it would be within my first month. I said no worries, said it was a pleasure learning about the company, and figured that was that. Recruiter then reached out and said my time off would be fine but that I’d have to work “extra extra hard” to not have this impact my numbers. Felt like I was being put under the gun before I even potentially started. I thought this was pretty telling in terms of their ability to be flexible with employees and candidates. I've seen numerous reviews from employees on here talking about how hard it is for them to take PTO.
-Truthfully, this role is 3 jobs in one: PGAs are responsible for setting up first meetings with therapists, meeting with therapists to pitch them on the platform, and getting therapists set up on the platform post sign-up. This position is a high-volume full cycle sales role + a high-volume onboarding/success role in one. You’re dealing with a large volume of ongoing deals (interviewer said between 100-150 at any point in time) and a high volume of weekly meetings (15-25 per week). Given Headway’s customer profile, I don’t see there being opportunity to level up to a mid-market or enterprise role either, so you’re gonna be stuck in high volume, low ticket, land.
-Very green second and third line management: In this role you will not be reporting to a sales professional with decades of experience leading and mentoring salespeople. You’ll be reporting to someone with a few years of sales leadership experience at most. To some this may be a positive, to me this was a negative. Getting direct mentorship and support from people who are experienced is critical for me and has made a massive difference in my career.
-Only 60% of PGA’s are meeting quota: When asked how many people are meeting quota, my interviewer shared that their quotas are designed so that 60% of PGAs are at 100% attainment or above at any point in time. This is a pretty aggressive quota design and it seems that they take pride in creating the vibe that everyone is under the gun at all times grinding to hit their numbers. Which, honestly, I’d be into if you got paid well, but at 60k base and a 24k bonus this isn’t worth it unless you’re desperate.
-Mission driven? Yeah but take it with a grain of salt: The vibe is far more venture backed, bro-led, “hyper growth,” tech company than balanced, employee-centered, organization. Join if you need experience and have no other way of breaking into tech. Otherwise, I’d go for a SDR/BDR role where you’ll be making, at minimum, as much and likely more, with a more clearly defined and focused role and a transferable skill set. Or find a full cycle role thats more structured, higher ticket, lower volume, and has more reasonable comp.